Do you know where you are going?
Written: Dec 12 '00 (Updated Dec 12 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Does not get any better for backpackers in Northern California
Cons: Long windy drive to get there.
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| Logster55's Full Review: Marble Mountain Wilderness |
After hours of driving we reach the trailhead. We came from the coast of California to get here, thru Willow Creek, Hoopa, and miles upon miles of windy roads. The road followed the Salmon river and I begin to feel like I am in the middle of nowhere. The windy Salmon is one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever seen.
The trail we will be hiking this week is called, the Upper Salmon River Trail. An eleven mile trail that looks simple in my outdated trail book. It leads to just about anywhere in the Marble Mountain Wilderness, you could basically travel to any point in the woods with this one trail, meaning it hooks up with the main trails.
On the trail there are some of the most beautiful things I have ever seen, waterfalls, rivers to hike thru, I recommend bringing a pair of sandals you can change into when crossing the rivers. There are free range cattle in some places. I have seen bears, many deer, one mountain lion, and hardly any people. One guy was hiking back with nothing on his back. He stated angerly that a bear ate his .. stuff.
I have been at this spot on July 4th, and seen snow drifts. The elevation can get over 7,000 feet. Be sure to call and see what trails are open if you are a novice. Trust me, if you lose the trail in the snow, its not a good thing. Once its gone, its gone.
We begin, Terry, His brother, Kevin and I. My pack feels like it weighs one hundred pounds, wait, it does weigh one hundred pounds. The first mile or so is an old logging road, and it isn't that exciting. I lift my already weary head, and stare eye to eye with a black bear. He looks at me and says, " Are you food?" I say no, and run back down the trail, they say dont run, but he did not chase me.
We take a smaller trail off the logging road, and notice that there has been a big storm, and fallen trees litter the trail. We climb over one. Then we climb over another. Before long we are lost. I assume that there is a trail on the ridge, and we pack our gear to the top of the mountain. Three hours later we find the ridge, and the trail. We are still lost and its dark.
Attempting to put our packs in the trees, Kevin almost gets killed by a falling branch. "Someone push the packs up while we pull the rope from over here" Terry says. I say, I''m not doing that.
Kevin decides to do it, therefore he is the one that almost gets impaled by the branch. We do set up camp on the ridge and get some sleep.
In the morning, the trees are wet with dew, and my legs have fallen off in my sleep. I reattach them and decide we had better get going to the lake, because I want to go fishing. After a uneventfull morning of backbacking we make it to the lake, Big Lake to be exact. It isn't a big lake. It is a small lake, similar to all the other eighty-six lakes in the Marble Mountain Wilderness. Ukenome is the largest lake in the wilderness, and a easy hike for anyone who wants to get to know the wilderness. Look in just about any Marble Mountain map.
We do fish, and catch as many fish as we can eat, every attempt at fishing, it is easy to catch fish. The rainbow vary from eight inches to 18 inches, although my biggest was about 16. Hey, I have pictures. There are beautiful brook trout in the lakes, although not indiginious to the area. They range from 6 inches to 12 inches, although I eat them first, the taste is much better than the rainbow.
I recommend finding a map, and finding the Marble Mountain Wilderness. If you are planning a trip, don't hesitate to look me up.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Logster55
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Member: Logan R
Location: Washington State
Reviews written: 51
Trusted by: 112 members
About Me:
Hello, I enjoy writing from a different point of view.
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